


Parallel on the Other Side

by lea_anberlyn



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-29
Updated: 2013-06-29
Packaged: 2017-12-16 13:47:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,197
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/862722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lea_anberlyn/pseuds/lea_anberlyn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry and Draco have disappeared. So why do people keep seeing them everywhere? No one knows what's happened to them, but they seem to be getting closer with each sighting…</p>
            </blockquote>





	Parallel on the Other Side

**Author's Note:**

> Author/Artist LJ Name: lea_anberlyn  
> Prompter: janey_p  
> Prompt Number: 10  
> Title: Parallel on the Other Side  
> Pairing(s): Harry/Draco, very slight Ron/Hermione, Dean/Ginny, Blaise Zabini/Random Hufflepuff girl  
> Summary: Harry and Draco have disappeared. So why do people keep seeing them everywhere? No one knows what's happened to them, but they seem to be getting closer with each sighting…  
> Rating: R  
> Disclaimer: All Harry Potter characters herein are the property of J.K. Rowling and Bloomsbury/Scholastic. No copyright infringement is intended.  
> Warning(s): Multiple viewpoints (and I do mean multiple)  
> Epilogue compliant? Not in the slightest.  
> Word Count: 5,100  
> Author's Notes: When I saw this prompt go up as a pinch-hit I had to pounce on it and I believe I definitely get those bonus points for all the eighth year reactions in this haha. Hopefully it’s what you had in mind! Many, many thanks go to my Beta G who made my rather rambling first attempt so much better; this fic would still be a mess if it wasn’t for her so thank you!

_Gregory Goyle_  
  
The one to see them first is, strangely enough, Gregory Goyle.  
  
Goyle is one of the few Slytherin Eighth year students and he struggles daily with the stigma that comes with being a Slytherin in this post-War world. He struggles with both his studies and with the other students.  
  
But Goyle is still strong and he fights back – he won’t take anything lying down. He didn’t take any shit when he was younger and he’s not going to take any now.  
  
Just because he’s alone now people think he’s weak. But he’s not - both his friends are gone and Goyle has to do everything on his own, but he doesn’t care. He’ll do what he can to survive and then he’s getting out of here. Sure his Dad’s in Azkaban now but the world is vast enough for one lone boy to get lost in.  
  
He’s hurrying back to the Dungeons after one particularly messy run-in with a Ravenclaw Fifth year who thought it would be a good idea to spit on one of Goyle’s shoes. Well, he soon sorted him out. The scuffle does mean that he’s late, and Pansy  _hates_  it when anyone’s late for their daily Slytherin planning meetings.  
  
He’s careening 'round a corner when he almost runs into them.  
  
He’s stunned for a moment and he drops his books on the floor as his hands go out, grasping at the air in front of him.  
  
"Draco!" he calls, but the ghostly figure pays him no mind, too busy staring at the floor. Draco's head lifts abruptly and Goyle follows his gaze to see Potter standing at the edge of the corridor.  
  
Potter looks confused – they both do. And lost. Draco moves towards Potter, and Goyle watches as his arm rises to punch Potter in the face…but then they disappear again.  
  
It’s weird and Goyle stands there gaping at the empty space, before he decides that the whole thing was probably just indigestion. Those Cauldron Cakes at dinner had tasted rather funny after all…  
  
He curses when he notices how much time has past and hurries on his way, soon forgetting about the ghostly apparition altogether. He has more important things to worry about these days after all.  
  
 _Lavender Brown_  
  
Lavender has a lot of things on her mind. She has scars down her face, and three fingers are missing on her right hand, which means she has to learn how to hold her wand left-handed. That, as everyone is keen to tell her, is supposed to be impossible, but Lavender survived a werewolf attack for Merlin’s sake. She can manage this.  
  
She’s practicing in one of the old Charms classrooms, trying to levitate a book, when she first sees them.  
  
She sees Malfoy first and she squeals, brandishing her wand before her although she’s not sure what she’s going to do with it. Maybe poke Malfoy in the eye?  
  
Malfoy’s not looking at her – and he seems to be flickering actually. Lavender notices he’s see-through in the same moment she notices that Harry is sitting down in one of the chairs in the corner, looking bored and very angry, with his head in his hands and his wand making random waving motions in the air.  
  
Lavender is speechless. The last she’d heard Harry had disappeared soon after the war. Yet here he is, sitting in an old Charms classroom and…and as transparent as Malfoy.  
  
Oh God. Is Harry  _dead_? If he is Lavender will not be the one to tell Hermione and Ron.  
  
She watches curiously as Malfoy gestures with his hand. Harry raises his head warily and seems to tell Malfoy to, well, get lost is her best guess. Which Malfoy responds to by moving closer to Harry and then smacking him ’round the head!  
  
Harry jumps to his feet, looking outraged, but Malfoy just crosses his arms across his chest.  
  
“Get over yourself already Potter – this temper tantrum of yours has gone on for too long already. We’ll find a way out of this. You just have to have a little faith.” Lavender jumps at the voice, looking all around her. It seems to come from the very walls themselves but she’s sure that’s Malfoy’s voice. She can hear him; and sort-of see him – but where the hell is he?  
  
She hears a snort, “Faith?  _In you_? Get real Malfoy, the only thing I’d trust you to do is kill me in my sleep. Oh wait – you already tried that didn’t you? And failed and now we’re  _stuck here_ , and I just…just go away for a bit, all right? I need some space.”  
  
She sees Malfoy scowling, and Harry looks like he’s almost crying (in a manly-like-hell-I’m-crying-way) but then they fade out and she’s alone again, her wand hanging limply in her hand.  
  
She has no idea what’s just happened but it’s most definitely not normal. She should get some rest soon, she decides, putting her wand away. Obviously she’s over-taxing herself.  
  
 _Luna Lovegood_  
  
In her Seventh year at Hogwarts, Luna doesn’t spend much time in the Castle itself. After the war she’s decided that small, dark spaces are not good for her – they’re probably infested with Nargles actually and even her necklace and earrings don’t help to keep them at bay anymore.  
  
She’s not scared – Ron told her once when they were back at school that she was one of the bravest witches he knew. She’d blushed and thanked him – one of the first ever compliments she’d ever received – and it had come from Ron! She’d been delighted and had promptly gone and made him a necklace that made him invisible to moon frogs.  
  
He’d looked at her rather strangely whilst accepting it but she liked to think that he wore it sometimes.  
  
It’s strange to think that she has friends. She knows they’re friends because if she’s sitting on her own they’ll come and sit down next her. And if she’s feeling upset Ginny will put an arm around her shoulder and comfort her. The only person missing is Harry. Luna misses Harry.  
  
So she’s taken to wandering the Forbidden Forest and it’s on one of these random walks when she first sees him again. He’s kneeling on the ground near a tall, misshapen tree and she gasps, hurrying forwards towards the crouching figure.  
  
“Oh, Harry! You’re here – oh, everyone will be so happy. Just wait until I tell them that you’ve been here all along, hiding away. Are you searching for Plimpies? Can I help?”  
  
She stops when she realises Harry isn’t listening to her and seems to be fascinated by something he’s dug up. He holds it in his hands before shoving it in a pocket and standing.  
  
It’s then she realises that Draco Malfoy is standing there too, just a little further away with a smirk on his face.  
  
“You could’ve helped you know,” Harry is saying but Luna hears it distantly, as if it’s coming from far away. She frowns, wondering if she has something in her ears.  
  
“What and get these robes dirty? Perish the thought Potter, these are  _designer_.”  
  
Harry is shaking his head, looking at Malfoy as though he’s been possessed by a Nargle.  
  
“Who brings designer robes to school?” Harry is saying and she sees Malfoy sniff.  
  
“Just because most of the student body are Neanderthals does not mean I shouldn’t dress my best. You’d look better too if your robes actually fit for a change.”  
  
Harry, for some reason, grins at that. “Oh? Been checking out my body lately have you?”  
  
Malfoy sputters and Luna believes that if she could see him properly he’d probably be blushing.  
  
“Just make sure you don’t lose it before we can give it to someone,” Malfoy says next and his voice sounds…weird. Like he’s choking on something and Harry is…well Harry looks like he’s having fun which is nice. Luna likes to see Harry having fun.  
  
“Whatever you say Malfoy – let’s just get back to the Castle for now – we need to decide where we’re going to sleep tonight after all.”  
  
“I’m not staying in that tower of yours! I refuse to sleep surrounded by foolhardy Gryffindors. I might catch something,” he sniffs – which Luna only just catches but she can certainly see his nose in the air even though he’s started walking away from her.  
  
She hurries to catch up, trying to grab onto Harry’s arm but her hand goes right through his body. She stares at it wonderingly, only just catching Harry’s last words before they seem to just…disappear.  
  
“Well, I’m not staying with a bunch of conniving Slytherins – they’re not likely to roll out a welcoming party for me are they? So we’ll just have to…compromise.”  
  
She can see Malfoy nodding slightly and then…then they’re gone and she’s left on her own.  
  
She sticks a finger in her ear, giving a small sigh when she comes up with nothing. Heading towards the Castle she decides that she needs to make another necklace – a bigger one this time, with more caps. Clearly her other one has stopped working…  
  
 _Neville Longbottom_  
  
Neville sees them by the Greenhouses. For a moment he isn’t sure whether he’s just seeing things – it  _is_  dark after all and the moon casts shadows on everything from this angle.  
  
He peers closer and no, they’re definitely there.  
  
Harry and Malfoy are crouched in the dirt, both of them scrabbling at the ground. Malfoy seems to be yelling something but Neville can’t hear him. He notices that Harry seems to have a gash over one eye and is holding his side with one arm whilst he uses the other to shovel dirt.  
  
He walks closer to them, poking Harry in the shoulder, not at all surprised when his finger goes right through.  
  
He tries to call out but there’s no response and he sighs, wondering whether he should run and find Ron and Hermione.  
  
Except for some reason Harry has chosen to appear before  _him_. So Neville squares his shoulders and pays close attention to what the two of them are doing. Harry is scowling at Malfoy and then he grabs a handful of dirt and throws it at Malfoy, who seems to squawk and falls back on his arse.  
  
“What the hell Potter? I thought we had a truce?”  
  
“You should’ve seen the look on your face!”  
  
Harry is laughing and Neville is glad to see it – even if Harry is a ghost now. Harry was always too solemn after the war – well, until he’d disappeared. Now he’s laughing and Neville watches as Malfoy seems to huff for a moment before joining him in laughter.  
  
What the hell is going on?  
  
They scrabble at the ground some more and then they’re gone and Neville is left staring at a small hole that seems to have just appeared. He knows – because he saw them – that the hole is due to the efforts of Harry and Malfoy, but the knowledge jars inside of him because ghosts can’t touch things.  
  
Can they?  
  
He rubs his chin as he bends down, picking up the object he finds there before turning towards the Castle. Neville is just about brave enough to tell Ron and Hermione that he’s seen their friend and he’s a ghost. Just.  
  
 _Blaise Zabini_  
  
Blaise has his tongue down some pretty Hufflepuff girl’s throat when he first sees them.  
  
It makes for a rather distracting sight and he can’t help it when he chokes. The girl thumps him in the head, pushing him off and leaving in a huff, saying something about paying attention and ‘good for nothing boys’. Blaise watches her go with some regret – she's a good kisser after all and  _damn_  those legs are amazing.  
  
But then he hears a voice he’s known for years, one he’d thought had vanished forever.  
  
“Potter, how do you know Longbottom’s going to figure it out?” He squints in the low candlelight of the corridor and sees Draco, with his back to the wall, looking across at Potter, who is leaning against the other wall. They seem to be locked in some kind of staring contest and Blaise can only watch as Draco finally sighs and looks away.  
  
“Let me guess, because he’s a Gryffindor and you foolish lot always seem to land on your feet? Even though, the last time I checked, it was the Gryffindor  _lion_ , not the Gryffindor house cat.”  
  
Potter is grinning – which is strange in itself because Blaise didn’t know he  _could_  grin around Draco. Scowl, yes, glare definitely, but smile? It’s baffling.  
  
But Potter is grinning and Draco is raising an eyebrow and then…smiles back.  
  
Very peculiar.  
  
“Just wait and see Malfoy – he might just surprise you.”  
  
Draco shuffles where he stands, glancing down at his feet. “I don’t think there’s anything Longbottom can do that will surprise me anymore.” He says, giving Potter a look that Blaise isn’t even going to try to interpret.  
  
“Well he did behead a giant snake – you can’t get more surprising than that,” Potter replies and he reaches out his hand to Draco who seems to hesitate before he reaches out too and then…and then they disappear.  
  
Well, that sure was different.  
  
Now where did that Hufflepuff girl get to?  
  
 _Ron Weasley_  
  
Ron’s been looking for days when he finally sees them. Neville had told his story, and then Lavender had finally admitted to seeing them and whilst Ron had been sceptical before, his doubts are finally put to rest. He’s looking in the far corner of the library when he sees a black head bowed over a large book.  
  
It’s Harry. Ron’s chest tightens when he sees his best friend, lounging there and looking…looking a hell of a lot better than he should if he were a ghost.  
  
He scrutinises him, looking for any sign of damage, any way for Ron to tell just how he died.  
  
He doesn’t see anything – but then again, maybe he doesn’t want to accept the idea that Harry is dead. Because he’s not, he’s  _right there_  and when Neville came into the Common Room last week, all breathless and waving his hand about in the air…Well, Ron knew. Harry was alive and trying to get back to them.  
  
“Just give me a sign mate, anything. What can I do to help you?” He mutters.  
  
Harry and Malfoy pay him no attention. They have their heads together over one book, Harry occasionally reaching out to touch Malfoy’s hand.  
  
The sight is bizarre – but Ron knows that if Harry is on his own in some kind of alternate dimension then him touching Malfoy should be the least of Ron’s worries.  
  
So his best friend is fraternising with the enemy? He’s dealt with it before and he’ll deal with it again. He just wants his friend back, by his side where he belongs.  
  
He watches in silence as Malfoy leans into Harry for a moment, their heads resting against each other.  
  
“This is going to be harder than we thought, isn’t it?” Malfoy is saying and Harry…Harry is reaching around and putting an arm around his shoulder, pulling him up against his side.  
  
“Don’t worry – Hermione’ll figure it all out. She always does.”  
  
“Your faith in your friends is astounding, Potter, considering we’ve been here  _nine days_  already and we haven’t seen, or felt, anything from the other side. As much as I’m getting used to your company I need to see something other than your speccy face every time I wake up.”  
  
Harry nudges him, shoulder to shoulder. “I thought you rather liked my speccy face.”  
  
Malfoy gives him a small smirk – that oh-so-familiar one that seems different somehow, now it’s being aimed at Harry. “Why Potter, don’t get ahead of yourself. This is one of those end-of-the-world things where we’re the only two people alive and – as much as I hate to admit it – if I am to be bound in another place with only one other person…well, at least you’re not Weasley.”  
  
He shudders and Harry nudges him again until he’s falling off the chair and Harry is on top of him. Ron assumes they’re fighting – Harry fighting for Ron’s sake of course. How dare the ferret say such a thing?  
  
They both fade away after a moment and Ron walks over, trying to ignore the space on the floor where they’d been grappling each other. He grabs the book they were both looking at and takes it straight to the only person he knows who can help.  
  
 _Pansy Parkinson_  
  
Pansy Parkinson is a selfish bitch and she knows it.  
  
She ignores the people who whisper behind her back, calling her all sorts of names. Blood-traitor, She-Witch, She-Who-Must-Be-Shunned – she doesn’t care what they say and she takes it all in her stride.  
  
So what if she’d tried to sell the world saviour off to the Dark Lord? She had  _things to do_  and she couldn’t do them if she was dead.  
  
Of course, one of things she’d wanted to do had become impossible now that Draco has up and disappeared on her. Which was very selfish of him, in Pansy’s opinion.  
  
Recently though she’s heard, from Blaise and Goyle, that Draco seems to be alive somewhere. Goyle had stumbled upon him in the dungeons, apparently, and Blaise had seen them in an old Potions lab. So Pansy paid some little Firsties to set up vigil all over the dungeons until one day, three weeks after Blaise had first told her he’d seen Draco’s ghost, Draco finally appears again.  
  
She’s stunned when she sees them though.  
  
Potter has his arm flung over Draco’s shoulder, and Draco seems to  _leaning into_  Potter’s half-embrace. They’re walking, fairly unsteadily, towards her and she wonders for a moment if they’re drunk. Then she hears them and she knows. They’re definitely drunk.  
  
“You know Malfoy; I always liked your hair.”  
  
“Potter, don’t even think about dying your hair blond – you’d look atrocious.”  
  
“No, no, that’s not what I meant! I mean I like your hair, on  _you_.”  
  
Potter is – well, he’s  _leering_ , clearly, and Draco is not looking absolutely freaked out like he should be. In fact he’s bloody  _blushing_  and Pansy can’t decide which is the stranger vision – Potter trying to flirt or Draco flirting back.  
  
It’s disturbing is what it is.  
  
“You know I like to save people right?” Potter is slurring his words, leaning more heavily on Draco. They're becoming more and more unsteady the closer they get to her. She fears what will happen if they pass her. Probably fall down in a drunken pile.  
  
“Yes Potter, I’m well aware you like to ‘save people’,” Draco is replying and Pansy is glad to finally hear some derision in his voice.  
  
Potter is still grinning though and then he – he  _tweaks_  Draco’s noise! Just reaches out with finger and thumb and gives it a tweak, laughing at Draco’s perplexed expression.  
  
“I’m going to save you!” Potter exclaims. “Because I like you.”  
  
Draco pushes at him and Potter falls to the floor, blinking up owlishly. Well, he can’t really help but look owlish in those glasses can he? Pansy sneers at the picture he makes, mentally applauding Draco.  
  
“Shut up Potter, you’re drunk,” Draco says.  
  
Potter reaches up and grabs Draco’s hand just as he tries to escape. Pansy groans aloud when Draco looks down at him. Potter has always had this ridiculously earnest expression that makes him look like he could rescue all the lost kittens in the world. It’s pure dynamite and she watches with some dismay as Draco seems to fall for it.  
  
“I’ll save you,” Potter replies, tugging on Draco’s hand until he’s sprawled down next to him. He leans his head on Draco’s shoulder and closes his eyes. “Because I like you. A lot.”  
  
Draco is smiling now – actually smiling! And, Merlin’s beard, his hand – is he  _petting_  Potter? Clearly he heard Pansy and her kitten comment but took it the wrong way.  
  
Something is wrong here. Inherently, disgustingly wrong. And Pansy knows that even if Draco somehow manages to come back, one of her plans has been irreversibly damaged beyond repair.  
  
After all, she can’t marry Draco now.  
  
He’s clearly mental.  
  
 _Ginny Weasley_  
  
Ginny has known for a while now that she and Harry were never going to get back together again. She knew as soon as he disappeared after the battle with her brother and Hermione. After all – wouldn’t the hero normally run and find his lady fair?  
  
Except he hadn’t, and Ginny had given up – and then he’d disappeared and she’d felt guilty for  _weeks_  because she kissed Dean and then…Well, things had happened and Harry wasn’t around anymore.  
  
She’s pretty sure they’re not together though so she’s not cheating. She’d been so upset after everything and Dean had come over to hold her and tell her there were plenty more fish in the sea. And Ginny had replied that she didn’t like fish and then she’d kissed him.  
  
When she finally sees them though she’s shocked into stillness.  
  
She’s heard from Ron of course that Harry and Draco Malfoy have been seen around Hogwarts by various people. She’d been hurt that Harry hadn’t decided to appear before her but this…she could have done without seeing this.  
  
Harry has Malfoy up against the wall and seems to be doing his best impression of a vampire as he sucks the other boy’s neck. Ginny blushes ever harder when she hears the gasps and moans coming from Malfoy. As if from a gulf, they echo off the walls to her ears, and she takes a step back.  
  
But she can’t leave.  
  
Malfoy’s hands are in Harry’s hair, tugging him up before devouring his mouth. Ginny is sure she can see tongue and it seems very…dirty and wet and Harry is groaning and  _rutting_  against Malfoy’s thigh.  
  
She can feel herself growing hot, her face on fire as well as…other places when Harry starts to unbutton Malfoy’s shirt, revealing inch after inch of pale, glowing skin. He sucks and kisses his way down until he reaches Malfoy’s trousers.  
  
Ginny watches on, feeling like she’s watching some bizarre porn film, as Harry wrestles with Malfoy’s ridiculous-looking belt.  
  
“What the hell kind of belt is this Malfoy?”  
  
“I’ll have you know that’s a family heirloom and don’t you dare—ooooh.”  
  
Malfoy is moaning again because Harry has his hands – well Ginny is pretty sure they’re down Malfoy’s pants, but she can’t see very well and she’s cursing herself even as she creeps forward. She feels like such a pervert, and this is her ex-boyfriend for heaven’s sake, but she’s never seen such an arousing sight in her life. If Harry is – well, cheating on her kind-of – then she’s damn well going to see it all the way through. She might as well get something out of it after all.  
  
She’s not sure who’s more surprised when Harry tugs Malfoy’s pants off and puts his mouth around Malfoy’s cock – her or Malfoy. Malfoy’s eyes are wide and he’s panting heavily as Harry pulls his head back to grin cheekily up at him. Malfoy actually  _growls_ , grabbing a handful of black hair and forcibly bringing Harry’s mouth back to his cock.  
  
Oh, she really shouldn’t be looking at this should she?  
  
Ginny is starting to feel a little faint as she watches Harry’s head bobbing up and down, and she can almost hear the wet sounds as Malfoy moans and sobs and begs Harry to  _please just get on with it already Potter_.  
  
Malfoy’s head falls back and he screams, and they disappear just as and Harry sits back, wiping at his mouth with a satisfied expression.  
  
Oh. No, really,  _oh_.  
  
Ginny hurries off after that to find Dean. She needs…she needs help. Or a cold shower.  
  
 _Hermione Granger_  
  
Hermione has a plan.  
  
She’s been working on it for days now, trying to get everything right because she can’t screw this up. She just can’t.  
  
By her calculations, Harry and Malfoy have been in a different dimension for four months now – although time seems to work differently there. Ron said something about Malfoy saying they’ve only been there nine days but…it’s been a lot longer for them and she misses Harry something fierce. But at least he’s alive – and not suffering. She suspects they’ve been getting food from the House-elves, because no one’s said anything about them looking hungry. Well, Ginny hadn’t said much about her encounter at all – she’d just blushed and stuttered.  
  
So Hermione’s not worried about them running out of food. The boys are resourceful – well, Harry is. She doesn’t know enough about Malfoy to make such a statement. Either way she knows they’re in any danger so she's taken her time trying to get everything perfect, ignoring Ron’s urges to hurry up.  
  
She won’t hurry – not when she knows that this ritual could very well trap Harry and Malfoy in that other space for good. Just the mere thought makes her heart hurt and she holds a hand to her chest.  
  
Its fine, she reassures herself, everything is as it should be.  
  
She’s drawn the runes with the piece of chalk Neville had found by the Greenhouses. It glows with power, making the runes glow eerily in turn, all in various colours. The book is laid out in front of her and she kneels before it, her hands on either side as she looks down at the next step.  
  
Ron, Neville, Luna, Pansy Parkinson, Gregory Goyle, Lavender Brown and Blaise Zabini all stand around her. She’s given up guessing on why Lavender and Zabini are there at all – as far as she knows they’ve never been particularly close to either Malfoy or Harry but they glared at her when she’d asked them to leave so she’d just nodded and pointed out places for them to stand.  
  
She starts chanting, the words she’s memorised falling from her lips in a torrent – they had to be said quickly and eloquently. She can’t afford to mess up, not now when Harry is so close…  
  
She can feel the sweat gathering on her forehead but she ignores it, focusing on the book, and the words and the feeling of Harry.  
  
She hears a gasp behind her and looks up to see Harry and Malfoy standing there, hand-in-hand and looking slightly less transparent than Ron had described them.  
  
“Well, look at that, Harry,” Malfoy is saying, “The Mu-uhr, Granger’s done it! Well done, Granger.”  
  
Harry rolls his eyes but holds his free hand out. Hermione grabs it, pulling him forward, pulling him back to them.  
  
Harry comes, his hand on Malfoy forcing him forward too until they’re in the middle of a Slytherin-Gryffindor-Ravenclaw pile as everyone drives forward to give them a hug.  
  
Harry is grinning at her around their heads. “Thanks Hermione, I knew you could do it.”  
  
She blushes, and then freezes when Malfoy comes forward and hugs her.  
  
“Thanks Granger,” he says gruffly before standing back. Harry is smiling proudly and then…then he kisses Malfoy in front of them all.  
  
Hermione is not sure why Ginny faints after that but it is rather hilarious to watch…along with Ron’s annoyed curse and ‘God, I knew it’.  
  
Things are bound to get more interesting after this.  
  
 _Draco Malfoy_  
  
Most of the Gryffindors are glaring at him and Pansy looks disgusted after everything’s explained. Blaise looks…well, Blaise looks entertained as usual. Although so does Granger, come to think of it.  
  
But the only one who’s looking at him with clear eyes is Harry, who stands there like his Knight in Shining Armour, ready to defend Draco against his friends.  
  
“You can’t be serious mate – he tried to kill you!” Weasley is saying, jabbing his wand threateningly in Draco’s direction.  
  
“And failed,” Harry replied, gripping tightly onto Draco’s hand when he tries to get away. He hates this, the accusing stares – he’d become so used to them after the war and then he’d come back to Hogwarts and…and he’d just  _snapped_. He’d grabbed the knife, and crept into the Gryffindor Dorm rooms and he’d tried to stab Harry Potter.  
  
“He only failed because he’s a bloody coward! He shouldn’t have tried to kill you in the first place!” Weasley is shouting; red in the face and his wand is sparking rather alarmingly. Draco moves back, or tries but Harry is holding on so tight that his hand is going white and he can’t move away. He can only stand there whilst he faces this trial.  
  
Harry is smiling, for some strange reason. “I forgive him, I forgave him ages ago actually,” he tugs Draco forward and Draco curses him as Weasley takes one step forward at the same time, bringing him within grabbing range.  
  
“That’s just it - you’ve been gone for  _weeks_  mate, we thought you’d died!”  
  
“Weeks?” Harry looks confused, his head tilting to the side and Draco can’t decide whether he looks cute, or just idiotic. “We’ve been gone for months, two at least – although I didn’t really keep count whilst we were there.”  
  
“Oh, how interesting,” Granger is saying, “I never suspected that time would run like that. From the comments you two have been making we thought it was much shorter.”  
  
“Nope, it was definitely months. Hell, it took me one month just to talk to Draco – never mind kiss him.”  
  
“And that – right there! You’re clearly not thinking right Harry. You need space, you need some time, you need—”  
  
But Harry interrupts Weasley’s tirade, shaking his head fiercely. “This is Draco Malfoy, and he’s my boyfriend. I don’t care about the rest of it.”  
  
Weasley explodes and then a fist is coming towards him and Draco can’t duck quickly enough.  
  
 _Harry Potter_  
  
Harry still doesn't understand where they’ve been.  
  
Hermione said things about alternate dimensions and divisional spells and Malfoy being an idiot for trying to kill Harry with a Binding Knife. And then Ron had exclaimed that Malfoy shouldn’t have tried to bloody kill Harry in first place. Then Ron swung at Draco, only for Harry to get in the way.  
  
His cheek still feels sore but Draco is stroking it with soft fingers, looking at him with a strange expression.  
  
“Why?” Is all he says and Harry reaches out, grabbing onto Draco’s hands and holding them in his own.  
  
“Because I love you.”  
  
And Draco blushes and ducks his head, but then lifts it again a moment later to kiss Harry right on the mouth in front of everyone – which is really just as good as a confession in Draco-language.  
  
Harry knows he’s smiling – he can’t seem to stop. All he knows is the sun is shining, and his friends are in the background bickering, and Draco is a warm, solid body against him and they’re back where they belong. Finally.  
  
He can’t ask for more really.  
  
Well, except for maybe a bed – but that can come later.

_The End._

 

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